Curse of the Cat's Bell
by Kurosu
Summary: Post anime, MayuLoki. Case #1 of the Mystery Files series - One day after school, on her way to the detective agency, Mayura comes upon a street peddler selling mysterious items and curios, piquing her interest greatly. With little money on her, she is able to purchase a cute choker with a golden bell that is said to be cursed.
1. Chapter 1

**- Disclaimer:** _Matantei Loki Ragnarok_ belongs to Kinoshita Sakura.

* * *

**Curse of the Cat's Bell**

written by Kurosu

**- Chapter One.**

Mayura counted down the seconds of the clock at the front of the classroom until the bell, throughout the whole school, went off because it was now the end of the school day and the start of a weekend. She threw her hands in to the air with her classmates, cheering ecstatically, for the next two days were going to be filled with possible mysteries, at least she hoped so. She was so giddy, every ounce of her was trembling with excitement, which was a positive sign of good things to come in to her future, right?

What an optimistic, mystery-obsessed girl she was!

She hurried and stuffed her books and things in to her school bag and ran out the classroom door, in such a hurry that she almost forgot to switch her indoor shoes out. She could be so absentminded too, but it was a cute and endearing trait about her, because her mind was always filled with her silly mysteries. She pondered over the different cases that could arrive at the doorstep of the detective agency that Friday afternoon, swinging her school bag at her side happily, her eyes plastered musingly to the blue skies.

A bounce in each step she took down the sidewalk, soon littered with all sorts of people, but she didn't mind at all and continued as happily as she did, when a hand suddenly grabbed for her wrist. She jerked to a stop and stared down at a scruffy, young man with an eye-patch over his right eye, squatting on the ground over some merchandises laid across a cloth.

Usually this type of person would be suspicious, but to Mayura, he just looked totally cool and handsome, for being an older man. She was blatantly staring, or maybe ogling him, which just added to the stranger's ever growing ego. The slyness in his one remaining eye held her fascinated gaze, and a playful smile twisted on his face.

"Ojou-san!" he grinned, releasing her wrist, "Take a look at my wares! These are one of a kind items from across the world! They all have great stories, and some will bring you good luck!"

For some reason, she felt the urge to do as he requested and knelt down on the ground, across from him, eyeing each piece of item. Some were cute, little trinkets that girls her age would love to wear, but she normally overlooked those for more interesting and mysterious items, like the ones stashed towards the back of the display.

He held up small charm on chain to her, "This will bring you great luck in love!"

"That looks mysterious!" she said in awe, pointing to the silver dagger with a skull hilt, to which the street peddler sweatdropped, and she picked it up to examine it more closely, "I bet this killed a lot of vampires!"

The sweatdrop grew bigger on his head, he snatched it out of her hand and replaced it with a ruby, floral hairclip.

"This suits a pretty girl like you better!" he insisted.

She looked at the new object with uncertainty, "Well yes, but I like the dagger more."

He rolled his one eye, "That'll cost you 10,000 yen ($100) then."

It was her turn to sweatdrop, and she checked in her pockets, pulling out a few coins, "Eh... I only have 800 yen ($8)."

She was a high school student after all, so he couldn't expect her to be walking around with money oozing out of her pockets, unlike a certain blonde classmate that was heir to the Kakinouchi financial empire, who happened to be strolling down on the other side of the road with a flock of females around him. He shook his head and motioned to the bottom row of items, "Then you can afford those."

A deep hum came from the back of her throat, hinting to her annoyance at not able to buy the dagger, as she looked at them, rubbing her chin in thought, "But they don't look very mysterious."

Quite true since they were more for the girly teenagers, from the array of necklaces and rings and bracelets, and just much too cute for this girl's strange taste. He sighed and refrained from slapping his forehead at such a difficult customer.

"Well, this one," he pointed to a random bracelet, "used to be owned by a girl who was left heartbroken at a lake. When her lover didn't arrive at their appointed time, she thought he had stopped loving her and jumped in to the lake, drowning herself. She wore this when she died, so whoever wears it now can see her ghost..."

"OH! A ghost! I wanna see a ghost!" she cried, reaching for the bracelet, but he stopped her and pointed to another jewelry, a ring this time.

Seeing her so excited over silly stories, he decided to play with another one just to see her reaction, "A long, long time ago, this ring was created by a witch and given to a handsome prince of some vast kingdom. She had fallen in love with him, but he scorned her for her lowly status and unsightly ugliness, so she secretly gave it to him. And when he wore it, he fell under her spell. So when he would look at others, he could only see the ugliness of the world, and because of this, he locked himself away in the castle, refusing to see another person, and eventually died alone."

"Aawe that's so sad!" she sniffed and picked up the ring, "So if I wear this, I will see the ugliness that the prince saw?!"

He shrugged, "If you believe the story."

"I BELIEVE!"

Mayura was ready to try it on, but the peddler stopped her again. Her patience was wearing thin with his interruption, and he told her, "Well you gotta purchase it first."

She held out the money to him, but he smiled and asked, "Are you sure you want that one? Don't you want to know about the rest?"

She furrowed her brows in frustration, dropping the ring back down, because she wanted to know about the all the mysterious stories yet she only had enough to purchase one item. Such agony that wrecked her brain, when all these mysteries were laid out before her, and she couldn't decide which one to pick. Plus, she was spending too much time already, and surely, Loki would be worried about her if she didn't show up, especially if there was a case and he was missing his lovely assistant.

"I still can't decide!" she wailed, eyes shut tightly as she flailed her arms wildly.

"How about this?"

Mayura ceased her silliness and opened her eyes, staring at a black choker with a golden bell on it dangling from his hand, and missed the devious grin on his face. She opened up her palms to it, and he dropped it in to her hands, in complete wonder, "What kind of story does this have?"

He shrugged, now being lazy to fabricate a story, "No idea. I just know it's supposed to be cursed."

"Waai! A mysterious curse!" Her eyes brightened like a light bulb, and he knew he had made a sale, to a very gullible, innocent girl whose obsession just happened to be the abnormal and extraordinary, "I have to solve this mystery! Find out what kind of curse it is!"

She handed over all her money to him and tucked the choker in to her pocket before standing up. She bowed and smiled, "Thanks, oji-san!"

His eye twitched, as he watched her run off and shouted after her, shaking a fist in the air, "Oji-san?! I'm not that-!"

He sighed, realizing what he was about to say, and began to pack up his things, having had enough of the charade of a street peddler. He figured he didn't need another painstakingly difficult customer to sell to, not that he really needed to, but he was bored as hell. He shoved the leftover curios in to a bag and got up, stalking down the street, lugging his belongings over his shoulder, still grumbling to himself about the disrespectful youth of today on Midgard.

* * *

Bubbling with excitement, Mayura could hardly contain it when she arrived at the doorstep of Enjaku Detective Agency, bouncing from one foot to the other, ringing the doorbell for the third time. She normally just hit it once and waited, but she had such an awesome mystery for Loki to help her solve, so before the bell could ring for a fourth time, the door flew open and an exasperated Yamino leaned against he door, breathing heavily.

"Yamino-san!" she greeted worriedly, "You look all worn out and tired!"

"Ah sorry, Mayura-san," he bowed his head in shame for his ghastly appearance, "I was cleaning upstairs... on the ladder, when the doorbell rang... and the boxes... fell on me."

He stepped aside to allow her entrance, and she gasped, "Oh! Sorry, Yamino-san!"

"It's all right," he smiled. She was making her way towards the stairs when he told her, "Loki-sama isn't home yet. He went on a walk with Fenrir."

"Oh okay."

"But please make yourself at home. I'm sure Loki-sama will be home soon," he smiled kindly, "I'll bring up some refreshments while you wait."

"Thanks, Yamino-san! You're the greatest!"

Mayura beamed in his direction, before bounding up the stairs, leaving a shy Yamino to blush at her compliment. Within a seconds, she was in the study and paused in the doorway of the empty room, soaking in the strangely quiet scene without a certain precocious detective at the desk, which wasn't unusual, just didn't occur often enough.

She strolled over to one of the couches and plopped on it, dropping her school bag against the armrest, leaning back against the comfortable cushions. When she tilted her head back, resting it on the couch, gazing up at the ceiling for a brief moment of peace, at least until she remembered the small item she had purchased. She reached in to her skirt pocket and pulled out the black choker.

She flicked her finger at the bell, and it made a cute, twinkling sound. She giggled and stood up, looking around for a mirror, and upon seeing none, she walked over to Loki's desk and hesitated, recalling the last time she snooped around his things. She sweatdropped and scurried away, finding the reflection of the glass on the landscape painting, just off to the left of the desk, worked just as well. She pulled her long hair aside and slipped the choker around her neck, attempting to clasp the ends together.

When it was done, she peered at her reflection and touched the bell, giving a few poses, "Hm, this sorta looks like a collar." She laughed at the silliness of it, "I wonder what sort of curse this'll be. I hope it's one of those fast-working curses!" She pouted, "Waiting for days would be terri-"

Lucky for Mayura, it was one of those quick activating curses all right, but unfortunately, it really was cursed!

A sudden poof of white smoke filled her vision, and she started to cough. She fanned her hands through the air to clear out the hazy obstruction, and by the time it dissipated, she stared straight ahead, noticing something was very off about the image in the glass. She moved closer to it and peered at the twitchy things on top of her head, her hands slowly reaching out to them.

Her fingers merely brushed over them, the texture much too real beneath her fingers, and then she screamed.

* * *

The front door had just opened, and a content Loki, with Fenrir at his side and Ecchan sitting on his head, entered, enjoying a nice, quiet afternoon, or so they thought when they heard the ear-piercing shriek from upstairs. They recognized the owner of the scream and rushed to the stairs, just as a frantic Yamino, who nearly spilled the plate of cookies, came running from the kitchen, following the young detective to the study.

They piled at the door, with Loki throwing it open. His green eyes searched the room desperately until he spotted some movements behind the couch and rushed over to it, "Mayura!"

He abruptly stopped at the sight of her sitting on the floor, her back to him, but he immediately took notice of the strange things on her head and the movement of something beneath her skirt.

"Mayura?" he called again, moving towards her slowly and hesitantly, with each step, a strange trepidation found its way in to his stomach, and a nervous Yamino was right behind him, both for some reason approached the teenager cautiously.

With a worried Ecchan floating above, Fenrir was the one to rush to her first, sniffing and pawing at her skirt, when she suddenly twisted around, tears brimming at the edges of her eyes, hands tugging at the choker around her neck, and a long tail smacked Fenrir in the face. The three residents of the agency staggered backwards in shock at the sight of a different Mayura, who now had feline ears and a tail, peeking from under her skirt, sashaying side to side as if it had a mind of its own.

"Loki-NYAO!" she clasped both hands over her mouth at the weird sound she just made, embarrassed and horrified.

* * *

After a few minutes of the water works turned off and everyone had a cup of hot tea to calm down the nerves, Mayura, her eyes glued to the swirling cup of tea in her hands, told them what happened with the involuntary insertion of 'nyao' every now and then. But all anyone could really do besides half listening to her story of woe was stare at the odd yet fascinating kitty ears on her head. Even Loki, seated beside her, had the urge to reach out and touch them but figured the distressed girl didn't need that sort of attention at the moment.

A curious Ecchan hovered over Mayura's head, peering closely at the new set of ears, one twitched unexpectedly as if the girl subconsciously felt a presence above her.

Fenrir was on the floor, happily munching on his plate of cookies, but his eyes followed the end of Mayura's tail like it was the most interesting thing he had ever seen, swinging back and forth in a rather mocking manner. His eyes hardened in to a glare, and he began to move towards it, setting aside his snack for now. When he was close enough, he lifted his paw ready to smack it, but it suddenly disappeared, flying straight in to the air, and Mayura's skirt flew up too.

She squealed in surprise and shoved her skirt and tail down with both hands, embarrassingly.

Loki, grinning and trying not to laugh behind his hand, sent a curt glare in Fenrir's direction, who suddenly tried to look innocent, and Yamino snatched his brother up, "Sorry, Mayura-san, I'll take Fenrir downstairs."

'Oi, don't forget my cookies!' he barked, to which his brother obliged to, and after a nod from Loki towards Yamino, both of his sons, along with Ecchan, disappeared from the room.

The door closed again, leaving a very calm detective and his distraught, half-feline assistant alone. Mayura, rubbing her ears curiously with one while the other kept pulling on her supposed collar that wouldn't come off, exclaimed, "It's the curse, nyao!"

The boy sipped the tea and nodded, sighing, "It seems so."

He watched her from the corner of his eye as she tugged on her kitty ears and yelped from the pain, at least they knew it was quite real, but he had to admit this was an interesting situation, now that this mysterious curse had physically affected Mayura, who lacked any sixth sense or spiritual abilities.

"Tell me about this peddler," he put down the cup on to the table as she turned towards him.

"Well," she started, gazing upwards in thought, her ears twitched and her tail moving side to side, and he couldn't help but notice it, "He was good-looking, nyao."

He sweatdropped at her first description, and she put a hand over her right eye, "With an eye-patch, nyao, like a pirate! He was scruffy-looking, nya... like he hadn't shaved in days... Wow, like a real pirate, ny-!" she tried to bite back the sound in the back of her throat, "A pirate wearing cargo pants and a t-shirt?" She blinked at the memory, "And a blue and black striped beanie, nyao?"

They both sweatdropped at her failed attempt to stop the cute sounds.

"That's it?"

"Hmm, well... his eye was pretty, a deep blue, nyao!"

He was a bit impressed that she managed to remember what the man looked like, "He seems easy to spot then."

"Oh yes! He should still be in that place, nyao! It wasn't that long ago," she said, standing up, "I can take you there, Loki-nyao!"

He stared at the tail that was moving in the air, having lifted up the back of her skirt again, and grinned, "I don't think you want to go out like that."

"Huh?" she followed his eyes and blushed, pushing down her skirt and tail again, "Geez, how annoying! It's so hard to control it, nyao!"

He laughed, "Because your mind wanders so much!"

"Waah! How am I supposed to, nya, go home like this?!"

"You just realized that?" he continued to chuckle in to his fist, "Don't worry, Yamino has dealt with it. You can stay here until we solve this mystery."

She peered over to him, like a curious kitten, and seeing that he really meant it in his gentle expression, she smiled brightly and glomped him, forgetting the current state that she was in, "Thank you, Loki-kun! Nyao!"

Smirking with much amusement, he eyed her tail that was flicking side to side happily at his words, and he averted his gaze up to the ceiling, because as fun and entertaining he hoped it to be, it was going to be a long weekend with Mayura like this. He restrained the urge from playing with her tail, though the mischievous grin never left his face, and the feel of her hugs were always nice and warm, sending his insides all fluttering strangely at their closeness.

* * *

"Aaah! Loki-kun!"

He heard her voice, coming from outside his study, the platter of her socked feet echoing down the wooden floorboards, and raised his eyes to the door as it flung open. It was late evening, much too late to do any real investigation on the mysterious peddler that most likely had left for the day, and dinner had managed to end without much mishaps, except for the occasional tail chasing by Fenrir, whose canine impulses were apparently uncontrollable.

One troublesome puppy with an insatiable appetite was enough, and Loki was fortunate that a certain freeloading god of thunder didn't stop by that day. He had hope to do some research on curses relating to Mayura's circumstances, but nothing so far from the two thick books on ancient curses.

Now that she was in front of him, which was probably a sign to call it quits for the day, he arched a brow, wondering what had gotten her nerves all shaken up again. He stared at her new attire, already in her blue pajama set borrowed from Yamino, which were obvious a bit big and long on her, hence the rolled up sleeves, but she was pointing to her opened mouth, showing him her more well-defined cuspids in comparison to the rest of her teeth.

"Nya! My teeth, Loki-kun!" she ran her tongue over them, a slight flinch at the sudden sharpness of them, "I'm turning in to a werecat! Nyao!"

He reached his hand out to her face, taking her chin in between his fingers, as he studied her carefully, turning her head one way, then the other. "I hardly think that's the case," he snorted, "You're still furless."

She blinked and looked at her arms and pulled up her pant legs, which were long enough to sweep the floor, and then looked down her buttoned up top, and Loki sweatdropped at her cluelessness. His words were true enough at this point, but who knew what the night held, and he decided not to share that part of his thoughts with her, to ease her mind. A hint of a smile grew on his face when he saw her ears perk up, elated that she wasn't fully transforming in to a full-fledged feline.

"Ano," now that she was no longer that worried about her transformation, she leaned on the edge of his desk, "Loki-kun, did you find anything, nya, on the curse?"

He shook his head, "Not yet. We'll continue it tomorrow, so don't worry, Mayura." He gave her a reassuring smile and hopped out of his chair, "I'm sure you're exhausted from today, so why don't you get to bed early."

"Hmm, well, I'm not tired at all!" she beamed, her back straight and tall, and he could see her tail moving about behind her. She followed his gaze and blushed, fidgeting with the long sleeves of her shirt, "Nya, my tail won't stay still. It kept moving around so much, nyao... erm, and..." she leaned down and shyly whispered to him, "ripped through the back... nya... I hope Yamino-san won't be mad. I'll buy him a new set, nyao!"

He laughed and walked around to see her from the back, and with a huge grin, he took hold of her tail, running his fingers along the end of soft fur, much to her embarrassment. Her face turned completely red when he brought the tip to his lips and kissed it.

"Loki-kun!" she cried and yanked her tail from his grasp.

"He~h," he smirked, feigning innocence, "Mayura, why are you all red now?"

"Mou Loki-kun!" she began to fume instead, "I think I'll go to bed, nyao! Good night!"

In a huff, she stomped out of the study, steam blowing out of her kitty ears, while her tail, still a mind of its own, bounced happily after her. Despite the embarrassment and annoyance, her emotions were quite clear that she enjoyed the little display of affection as much as he did, and he was left to muse over her cute posterior, appreciating the view very much from his spot.

He was going to have some pleasant dreams tonight, and he laughed.

* * *

**Notes:** Lol, I have a few MayuLoki plots swirling in my head, so you might be seeing a few more in the coming days and weeks.

This story came about when I was searching for MayuLoki fanart and found a few cute ones by the talented So-Ha. In the bunch, I came across some neko-Mayura with Kakusei Loki! I was in utter fangirl land squealing and gushing with joy, lol! I know I have Chibi-Loki in the story, but I'll work Kakusei Loki in here somehow! Lol... goshdarnit I will!

Rofl, I originally had that street peddler as some random guy, but then I laughed at the thought of it being Odin. He was bored after letting Loki off the hook, so he decided to create some entertainment at their expense, lol... *sweatdrops* -kuro.


	2. Chapter 2

**- Disclaimer:** _Matantei Loki Ragnarok_ belongs to Kinoshita Sakura.

* * *

**Curse of the Cat's Bell**

written by Kurosu

**- Chapter Two.**

"Mayura!"

His eyes snapped open, the recent memory of her slipping out of his grasp was all too clear and vivid and his voice calling out desperately for her, yet they were all futile. Her figure diminished from his view, fading within the ominous shadow, a strange hand clasped over her mouth, preventing her from speech, but her expressive eyes of crimson pleaded for him. He couldn't get the image of her helplessness out of his mind, still fresh from his awakening.

He sat up in bed, a hand to his forehead, wondering why he had just dreamt of a feline Mayura being caught by Odin - was it some sort of premonition relating to the girl's current state? But Odin had stopped his pursuit of killing him ever since he decided to remain in Midgard, so it was quite baffling that the Allfather would bother with them now. Perhaps because these were recent events, his dreams had amass them together.

With this plausible explanation, his breathing calmed down, and he dropped his hand to his side, finally realizing that he was no longer in his child form but his original godly image. He did not recall ever willing the transformation, very certain that he went to bed as a small boy, and since his return to Mayura's side, he had been in his banished figure of the boy detective she was comfortable with.

It was possible that the dream he had, wanting to save Mayura, had forced him to subconsciously transform. Another reasonable explanation, and nothing to worry about. He sighed, brushing those thoughts away, in need of much more sleep for this youthful body, but maybe he ought to pay attention to the extra weight next to him, apparently overlooked when his confusing dream had been priority.

The obvious lump beneath the cover forced him to reach over to the side table and flip on the lamp. He flung off the covers off himself and the mysterious thing in his bed, creating a cautious space between them, and his jaw dropped at the sight of a feline Mayura all curled up. He couldn't tear his eyes from her form, still in her pajamas though lacking the bottom half, and his deep, green eyes, flickering of between an enigmatic blue within the soft light, stared at the length of her bare, pale legs. He wasn't sure if he ought to thank the rather long buttoned up top that reached her mid thighs, but her tail was visible from underneath the fabric, draped over her legs.

He noticed her shiver from the cool night air since the covers were laying at the foot of the bed, and her tail moved, sweeping across the perimeter of her territory in search of the missing blankets. With a pang of guilt, he returned to his bed, gently easing his weight back on the mattress, as he reached for the ends of the blankets and pulled them over her first, before wondering how she ever got in to his room, much less his bed.

She looked so peaceful that he didn't have the heart to wake her up and send her back to her room, and so with a quiet sigh of resignation, he laid back down, on his side facing her slumbering form and his head on his bent arm tucked underneath as a makeshift pillow over the real one. He reached over to the covers again and pulled it a bit higher, over her shoulder, and his hand hesitated in leaving her side, lingering over lovely figure, seeking a reason to touch her.

He lowered his hand until his fingers curled in to her long, pink tresses, letting them play with the soft strands, and then he brushed them back, away from her face, so he could get a better view of her flawless features in the dimness of the light behind him. He moved his hand to her cheek, lightly caressing her smooth skin with the back of his fingers as if exploring the specimen of a beautiful creature for the first time.

As if she felt the safety and warmth again, she released a soft purr and shifted closer towards him, invading his personal space that he had tried to create to keep his sudden urges in check, but being this close to her, it was becoming very difficult, especially when she appeared so inviting. He froze, not knowing what to do, when her body nestled against his own, the warmth of his body that she had sought out, and her face was so close to his, that he dare not breathe in fear of waking her up and losing this intimate moment between them.

Her eyelashes were so long, he could almost count each single one, and her lips looked soft and luscious, like the forbidden apples of Asgard, and he wondered what she tasted like, or how she felt pressed against him. Just those thoughts of her pricked at his subconscious, and he couldn't tell if this was real or not, seeking out the warmth of her lips for his own, first gently, cupping the side of her face with his hand.

She had a delicate sweetness, nothing overbearing, reminding him a bit of the peaches they had after dinner, and he wanted to taste more of her, with half-lidded eyes gazing at her wistful expression, though she did not respond to him until seconds later when he deepened the kiss. He had to pull back before being caught indecently, yet his body refused to do so, a disconnect between mind and body, but perhaps it was a good thing, because she began to return his kiss, with equal fervor and more, nipping at his bottom lip eagerly.

She slowly opened her eyes to see him, not even letting up on the kiss, and made a move towards him, half pushing him back in to the pillows, her body draped over him, her right leg fell in between his own, as the covers fell away. Her hands found their way to his shirt and began to undo the buttons, while she readjusted herself till she straddled his lap, and he suddenly felt uncomfortable, grabbing her hands to stop them from going farther down, "Mayura, wait!"

"Nya?" she, full awake now, tilted her head to the side, staring at him with large, pleading eyes.

"W-We can't do this!"

He saw her tail swish side to side and then came towards him, slipping slyly under his shirt, caressing his skin gently, and still holding her hands, he closed his eyes, trying to erase the image and feeling from his sense, every part of him resisted the temptation of the playful tail that continuously teased him.

She leaned towards him, whispering coquettishly, "But I like you, Loki-kun!"

At the utterance of his name with the endeared attachment, Loki groaned disappointedly, and when he opened his eyes again, he was staring up at the ceiling of his dark room, and no feline Mayura in sight. He raised his hand up to the ceiling, and a quick examination of it told him he was certainly in his child form, and everything that he thought had happened had been a very vivid and memorable dream.

"Mayura..."

He sighed, a mixture of defeat and frustration, and rolled over, burying his head in to the soft pillows for the rest of the sleepless night.

* * *

In the morning, Loki, like a zombie right out of a horror movie, sat at the table, barely touching his breakfast because he could not go back to sleep after the very lucid and enticing dream of Mayura last night. He obviously got more than enough pleasant dreams to last him a few nights, but that was going to do him little good in the face of the curse problem. He poked the fork at his food, noticing the concerned look on Mayura's face from the corner of his eye.

She, wearing her clean school uniform since it was a last minute sleepover, asked, "Loki-kun, are you okay? You look like you hardly got any sleep..."

"Ah, I'm fine..."

"I'm sorry, Loki-kun!" she hung her head low, "You were worried about me and didn't get any rest! I'm so sorry!" She placed her hand over his, looking straight at him, and he felt his chest constrict at her intense gaze, "But when this is all over, I'll make it up to you, Loki-kun! I promise!"

He sighed and quickly turned away, to hide his warm, pink cheeks, "It's fine, Mayura. And you need to stop making promises on a whim or... I will hold you to them."

She giggled, "I don't want to break any promises to Loki-kun."

"I know," he groaned, "That's what I'm afraid of."

He then blinked, staring at her, just now realizing a few different things that he should have noticed earlier - the sleep deprivation had really affected his brain - besides her physical feline traits, "Mayura, you've got yourself under control?"

She hadn't interjected 'nyao' or 'nya' after every five words, and he hadn't caught a glimpse of her cute tail yet either, nervously recalling the playful thing from his dream, but her excitement brought him back to reality, "Oh yes! I couldn't sleep right away last night, so I tried to concentrate like you said to. After a while, it became easier to control."

He was surprised that she actually listened to him for once and then smirked at the sight of her breakfast, as she dipped a spoon in to the bowl in front of her. "Cereal and," he arched a brow, "milk?"

The milk and bits of cereal - a terrible ratio of liquid to grain, but cats loved their milk - was practically spilling over the rim. She scooped up her clusters of grains and berries in to mouth, then proceeded to slurp the rest of the milk. When it was all gone, she grabbed the milk carton and was about to pour the last bit in to her bowl when she looked over to Loki, who was staring musingly in her direction.

She handed the carton to him, "Here, Loki-kun. You need it more than I do."

"I do?"

"Of course," she nodded, pouring the milk in to an empty glass for him, "Loki-kun needs it to grow!"

Yamino, across from Mayura, and Fenrir, who was eating his plate of food on the floor, tried not to laugh so loudly at Mayura's remark that earned her much glaring and shouting from their short, childish father, "I'll grow just fine without milk, thanks!"

His second son looked away, not able to hide his amusement, chuckling quietly in to his fist, before announcing, "I'll have to get more of it though."

"Yamino," Loki grumbled warningly.

"Hmm," Mayura appeared thoughtful, "Yamino-san, you should get orange juice too. I think Loki-kun needs more vitamin D, since he's so moody and grouchy!"

"You're right, Mayura-san!"

"Stop treating me like a child!" he fumed, glaring at them, while he poured the last bit of milk in to Fenrir's bowl just to spite the girl.

* * *

In the next hour or so, after much calming down from Loki, the four walked out of the agency that early afternoon with an agenda or two. While Mayura and Loki were planning to begin the investigation on the strange peddler, Yamino and Fenrir would be heading over to the local supermarket for much needed groceries, milk and orange juice included, despite Loki's protest.

On the way, Loki couldn't help but worry about Mayura's appearance, even if she was wearing a fedora - one that Yamino found tucked away in the closet - to hide her ears and her tail was tied securely around her waist just in case. He sweatdropped when she put on a pair of dark sunglasses and commented, "Now you just look odd and suspicious."

"No way!" she pouted, "If I wear a trench coat, I'd look like a detective in those American movies!"

"And you would fail if you had to tail someone," he sighed.

She ignored his comment and marched ahead, leading him towards their destination, where she had met the mysterious peddler, but she couldn't remember exactly where it was even though it was on her way from school. He had no choice but to follow her, rather doubtful of her ability to recall the location, but he wasn't disliking their little outing, at least not with the view he had from behind. He refrained from smacking his forehead at such a lewd thought and had to focus on the situation at hand.

It didn't help when she came to an abrupt stop, causing Loki to bump in to her from behind - when was he walking that close behind her anyway?

He immediately jumped back from her, rubbing his nose with a frown, "You could've given a warning, Mayura."

"Ah, I think it was there," she pointed at the empty space between a yoga studio and a cosmetic store, but no one was sitting outside.

"You think?" he eyed her unsure self.

"Y-Yeah..."

He sighed at her uncertainty and walked around her, looking around the area for any clues, but there was nothing. The area was clean - if not by the nearby proprietors, probably from the early morning cleaning crew - not a trace of strange energies either, since it was his first assumption that had caused Mayura's transformation, but perhaps it was really a cursed item from the local country. Then again, there were some cunning gods who could actually hide their auras if they were to visit Midgard, but they would have to be high-level gods.

And the first and only god that fit the description was Odin, who had been eerily quiet for at least a month now, which also reminded him of the sort of weird dream within a dream scenario. It didn't really make sense, but not much had to make sense with Odin anyway - one moment he sent assassins down to Midgard, and another he enjoyed a cup of tea watching the Einherjar warriors battle over the first batch of mead.

If one thought that fate was fickle, Odin was definitely the lord of fickleness. (And somewhere in Asgard, Odin certainly sneezed a few times.) But he had nothing to gain from toying with a mortal like this, at least there were no signs of Mayura's life being threatened, unless gradually turning in to a cat was it. As amusing the transformation and quirky traits she assimilated, he needed to have her return to normal.

"Mou," he heard her whimper, "Maybe he went a different spot?"

"It's possible," he shrugged, hoping that this peddler was just a regular human that happened to come across some strange, cursed items, "Let's look around."

She nodded and started to walk off again when she was unexpectedly jerked back, and she looked down at a determined Loki holding her wrist, "Is something wrong, Loki-kun?"

"Don't leave my side."

"But wouldn't it be faster if we split up?"

He sighed and pulled her along, explaining, "Bad things happen when you wander off, so you can't leave my side. All right?"

"What bad things?" she pouted, "Nothing ever happens to me! Well, if you count passing out and not remembering a thing!" She noticed the 'are you kidding me, look at your state right now' expression on his face, "Okay, except for this time... but that's not the point, Loki-kun. I always miss out on the good part, and you never tell me!"

"It's for your own good."

"You're keeping secrets from me! Your lovely assistant!"

He grinned, "He~h, wouldn't that fit your mysteries you would love to solve?" She glared at him, but he continued, "If I told you, then all the excitement and adventure would be gone."

Now she seemed conflicted over the matter, as much as she wanted to solve the mystery, the spirit of investigation was part of the "Mou, that's true..."

"Besides," he brought them back to the original topic, "I can't leave you alone in your current state. If someone were to discover your appearance, it would be dangerous for you."

"Oh! Loki-kun was worrying over me!"

That was true, but as long as she understood the situation, he didn't care how she took it. She obediently stayed by his side, holding his hand again, though one would think that the teenager was taking care of the little boy and not the other way around, much to Loki's chagrin when the old ladies were cooing at the adorable pair of 'siblings.' He had to restrain every inch of his boyish body from lashing out inappropriately at their spectators, because that would just destroy his cute, sweet public facade and he just couldn't expose it.

It was nice to have the two of them spend time together, but maybe he should have rethought this whole 'stay by my side' situation, now that he was being dragged from one store window to another. His female companion was easily distracted by the little things, especially the bakery shop that had a brand new flavor filling of pastry or the bookstore that just received a shipment of a reprint on the supernatural and folklores by someone named Kantarou Ichinomiya.

Neither had the money to make a purchase, so continuing their investigation was the obvious way to go, but now he had a slightly mopey Mayura attached to him. He had to fix it or else it would lead to undesirable results at the end of the day, and besides, seeing her without her bubbly smiles and bright eyes bothered him.

"Mayura," he coughed, and she looked at him, a slight pout on her lips, "if we make it through the day, I... promise to buy you something."

Loki let the words soak in to her head, because it sometimes took her a few more seconds than normal to comprehend what he was saying, when she actually paid attention to him, "Really?!"

He nodded, and the determination returned to her face, and she scanned the area, eager to find that mischievous peddler. He laughed quietly in to his fist, at her usual excitable self, but a weird sensation disrupted his amusement, like the presence of someone following them. He glanced stealthily over his shoulder towards a window display, eyeing the area behind them to find the culprit, but there was no one tailing them nor even appeared remotely suspicious.

Mayura was tugging him along, and he didn't resist, barely catching a glimpse of a cat off to the side among the throngs of walking legs. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary, and maybe he was just a bit paranoid with the thought of Odin potentially being the guilty party in this ordeal. He shrugged the weird feeling away and matched the girl's steps as they pushed forward.

It didn't take long for her to yelp in surprise, pointing straight ahead, alarming the nearby people, "There he is!"

A tall, young man was the apparent mysterious peddler, coming from the opposite direction, and had not noticed the outcry because he was wearing headphones, over a striped beanie, and his eyes were immersed in the magazine in his hand. Everything about him matched up with Mayura's description, which was rather impressive considering her ditzy self, but then again, she provided some useful information at times. Though the lack of an eye patch shouldn't have bothered him, but it did.

"Oji-san!" she called, stopping in front of the confused man, who was forced to stop too and pulled the headphones off his head and let it hang around his neck, dropping the hand with the magazine to his side.

"Uh, can I help you?" he asked uncertainly, eyeing the oddly dressed teenage girl and the little boy, pretending that he didn't know either of them. He wasn't surprised that a cute girl was in front of him, maybe wanting to flirt and ask him out on a date, but she came with her little brother?

"Yes! It's about this cursed bell!" she pointed to the choker around her neck, "You sold me a cursed item and now I'm a ca- erm, I can't take it off!"

He looked at her strangely, "What are you talking about?" he was now frowning, marring his handsome, rugged features, "I've never seen you before, but if this is some pick up line, you're doing a terrible job... But you're kinda cute, so I wouldn't mind..."

Loki nearly choked on the air he was breathing and glared at the man for daring to flirt with Mayura right before his eyes, and just leave it to the girl to be oblivious of the matter, stepping up to him and poked his chest with an index finger, attempting to appear intimidating but she was more in the oddball category rather than threatening. The pair of sunglasses slipped down the bridge of her nose as she glared, not one to not give up because part of being detective was to have interrogation skills.

"You can't get out of this one," she warned, "I recognize you from yesterday! You don't have an eye patch today, and your clothes are a bit different... and... uh, you sorta shaved... and..." She squinted at his face, more specifically at his eyes, "And your eyes are a bit more violet than blue..."

Her young companion sweatdropped, "Err, are you sure, Mayura?"

"Of course, Loki-kun. I can't forget a handsome face like that!" she declared and smashed her palms against the stranger's cheeks for emphasis, to which both males and the passersby sweatdropped. "Remember when I told you about kami-sama?"

Loki's frowning expression turned in to a flustered pink tint across his cheeks upon recollection of the details she gave about his older form, when she spoke to him that fateful day at the park, and felt all warm and nice inside that she had apparently found him attractive, even though she didn't know they were the same person. He wondered how long he could keep up with the charade, a part of him feeling guilty to hide that fact from her, but she seemed happy enough that he had returned to her side and never brought up any questions about that god.

"Forget kami-sama!" the stranger exclaimed, "And forget you, you weird girl!" He turned around and made a run for it, but Mayura wasn't going to let him go, making a grab for him, but she got hold of the magazine. Upset and appalled that someone would flee from her, she pursued him, half dragging poor Loki

"Fess up, oji-san!" she shouted after him.

Indignant about the title, he turned his head back, yelling, "I'm only twenty-four!"

They chased him through the busy afternoon streets, crossing a few roads, shoving through crowds, and somehow Loki managed to keep up, but the way things were going, he would be collapsing soon.

"Mayura!" Loki, practically out of breath, tried to get her to slow down, "He's... (gasp) not... (wheeze) the one!"

She was rounding the corner with him, when she heard his voice, glancing down to the struggling boy, ignoring the large man that came around the other direction, and smacked right in to him. She fell to the ground on her bottom, pulling Loki with her, and the fedora flew off her head, revealing her kitty ears, and landed behind her, and the murmurs of people around them began, followed by the intense, questioning stares.

She felt like she was under a microscope being dissected, by just eyes, and wondered if aliens felt the same way, not that she was afraid or anything like that, but it was a little odd being exposed to the public.

* * *

**Notes:** I told you I'd get some neko-Mayu & Kakusei Loki in somehow - lol, Loki's repressed feelings for a certain mortal! And kudos to you if you recognize Kantarou's name from _Tactics_. Hm, I'm thinking of writing a MLR-Tactics crossover, though it's been a while since I've read _Tactics_ and haven't finished the anime, and I don't quite have a plot for it... I can just imagine Mayura meeting Haruka, and somehow Loki gets jealous...

*coughs* Anyway, one more chapter to finish this story up. I've decided to make this part of the _Mystery Files_ series. -kuro.


	3. Chapter 3

**- Disclaimer:** _Matantei Loki Ragnarok_ belongs to Kinoshita Sakura.

* * *

**Curse of the Cat's Bell**

written by Kurosu

**- Chapter Three.**

It all happened within seconds, after Loki telling her that the stranger they were chasing was not the culprit and her head turning towards him as she made the sharp turn around the corner and smacked in to a solid chest of a very large man, causing the fedora to fall to the ground. The mishap exposed her kitty ears briefly, but Mayura had no time to process it when she found a heavy fabric thrown over her head. The texture and thickness was familiar between her fingers, and she peeked out from beneath Loki's coat to see a few people staring at her oddly.

The large man asked if she was all right, and Loki responded, with an arm around her, pressing her head against his chest, his coat still shielding her appearance from curious eyes, "Ah, don't worry about it, sir. She's a bit clumsy and never listens to me."

He nodded and walked away, along with everyone else, and the attention finally died off, leaving Loki to peer down to her flushed face and pinch her cheek with much disapproval, "Now, will you listen to me?"

He could almost see the droop of her ears as she nodded in a defeated manner. He sighed, letting go of her, and walked over to the fallen hat and picked it up. He lifted his coat up from her and returned the accessory to her head, once again hiding her ears. He took his coat back from her and helped her up with his free hand, because it was not proper for a girl to sit on the ground like that.

"But Loki-kun," she started, dusting the dirt and debris off the back of her skirt with both hands, "how do you know he's not the one?"

"First, when we met him, he didn't recognize you at all. And then when you accused him, he was genuinely surprised."

When she was back on her feet and appeared recompose, he extended his hand to her again, and she didn't hesitate to take it, neither finding the gesture between them out of place. They resumed walking side by side, and she suggested thoughtfully, "Well he could just be a good actor?"

"I know," he grinned, noticing the sudden appearance of a cat out of the corner of his eye, "but nothing gets pass me."

During the interaction between the stranger and Mayura, he had observed the man carefully and found each reaction, from facial muscles to body language as honest as could be. There were also other factors to take note of, "Did you notice what he wore?"

"Um, not cargo pants?" she asked, looking up to the blue skies.

He sweatdropped, as they walked by two more cats watching them, and he tried to brush it off as a coincidence that he was seeing so many felines in one day. He focused on her again, "Right, he wore a pair of nice slacks and a very expensive, brand name polo. His shoes were neat and clean, almost new, and his headphones, those were expensive too. With all of that to take in to account, I doubt he would be selling little trinkets on the streets."

"He just cleaned himself up today!"

"Really, Mayura, he's not your mysterious, peddling bum," he tried not to laugh at her attempts to debunk his keen observation skills, "I certainly didn't detect anything out of the ordinary about him."

"So, we're no closer to figuring it out," she hummed sulkily, "But I really thought it was him. He was very handsome."

If she bothered to be more aware of her companion, then she would have seen the annoyed twitch of his right eye and the appearance of a throbbing vein on his forehead. He looked away from her and saw a cat sprinting across the road towards their side, asking, "Are you talking about that guy? Or the peddler?"

"Both?" she let out a small laugh, "But no, really, I'm pretty good at remembering faces."

"When you want to, right?" he glanced at her slyly, and she blushed.

The whole while he had been trying to not let Mayura's sudden preference in older men cloud his thinking process, now that they had eliminated the mortal suspect from the situation. If he accepted this as a random situation, then what he would need to deal with was the actual cursed item itself. He would need to do some research on it, locally, if it was indeed an item from this country, and tried not to think it was even Asgard-related, which would be more trouble for him.

"Hm, Mayura," he started, "let's go to the library."

"Huh, why?"

"We have to take a different approach to the curse now. Instead of finding the person behind it, we'll investigate the bell itself."

* * *

An hour later at the town's main library on the other side of the district, since her school's library was normally closed on the weekend after noon, Mayura sat in front of a computer with Loki next to her, both peering at the monitor. She had brought up the internet browser, hoping to do a broad search of all the databases of information in the world at once, and typed in a few keywords in the search engine.

Loki watched with fascination at the mortals' impressive technological advances, as weird as it was, and he could never comprehend such things like how humans would never fully understand the concept of gods and existence of magic anyway.

Within nanoseconds, a screen of results appeared, and Mayura sweatdropped upon seeing that there were over 72 million hits. He then suggested adding a few extra words to it, and she was amazed that the number jumped down to 125 thousand, which still didn't help much. She tried localizing the search, but nothing came up for the area.

"Hm, what if the bell belonged to a famous cat?"

Mayura included the words in the next search, and Loki immediately noticed the fifth result that had Freya's name in the concise summary.

"That one," he pointed to the line, and she clicked on the site, bringing up some information on the Norse goddess named Freya. He shouldn't have been surprised it linked back to one of his fellow immortals of Asgard and doubted that Freya would find the generic image of a woman with long, blonde hair did her justice. He put that aside and skimmed through the supposed facts, a few he already knew about, like the owner of the Brisingamen necklace and the name and location of her hall.

He half paid attention to Mayura's words, "You know, this goddess reminds me of someone..."

He nearly laughed at the part about Freya's husband, because if she actually had one, she wouldn't be stalking him so much and continuously declaring her love for him. He shook his head and sighed, wondering how these mortals came up with such information about the Norse pantheon. He finally came across the one information he was looking for, concerning the purpose of their search, about the two cats that Freya owned, which he didn't know about.

Sure, he knew that Thor had two goats, but they were best friends and had quite a few adventures together. Now he felt a bit guilty that he didn't get to know Freya and the other gods like he would want to, thought it wasn't too late when some of them were on Midgard with him.

"Loki-kun," her voice brought him back to the present, "it mentions a pair of bells - one gold and one silver - but nothing else about them."

She sounded put out in the end, but he couldn't blame her when the site offered no other information, nothing pertaining to a curse either. But it was enough for him, because he knew the exact source to go to, silently cursing Odin in the back of his mind. He knew from the beginning that the Allfather was the cause all of the trouble - who else in the Nine Worlds had the guts to go against Loki.

"It'll be fine, Mayura," he tried to reassure her, "Let's go home. I'll get you back to normal by tomorrow, I promise."

He sounded so confident in his words that she looked at him for a moment and then smiled, nodding, her worries disappearing, as they stood up to leave. They were unexpectedly stopped right outside the entrance by a cute kitten, who scurrying up to Mayura and began mewing at her. She knelt down to pet it, but Loki's tug of her sleeve told her that her attention should not be on the little creature.

She looked up and saw a bunch of cats lingering a few feet in front of them. They were eyeing her like she was the most appetizing fish they had ever seen, very disturbing, and she let the kitten go and scooted subconsciously closer to Loki, who was mumbling, "I thought it was strange cats were suddenly appearing everywhere we went." He glanced over to her, "You're probably releasing some sort of pheromone."

"Eh? I smell?"

He sweatdropped, "Yes, and it's attracting these... male cats."

She grabbed his wrist and dragged him back in to the library to get away from the cats. They ran right by the reception desk, and the librarian scolded them on their lack of adhering to the rules about running inside the building. Mayura quickly apologized, zooming towards the other exit.

* * *

"This is crazy!" she exclaimed minutes later, still running and dragging Loki down the sidewalk, but she felt the heaviness from the boy and knew this escape method by foot was not going to last much longer for him. She stopped and knelt down, her back facing him, "Get on, Loki-kun."

He was able to catch his breath, blinking at her, but she insisted with a smile, "Trust me, Loki-kun."

The pack of pheromone-crazed cats were not too far behind, so he nodded, and with some embarrassment, he quickly climbed on to her back. As soon as he wrapped his arms around her neck, she tucked her hands underneath his legs and suddenly shot forward like a panicked gazelle. He was surprised his extra weight didn't deterred her from running and noted that she had even sped up, leaving behind the noisy cats in the dust.

One group was left behind, but many more emerged from the nearby streets, but she was able to lose them with her speed, turning down a few more smaller roads to hopefully lose more of them.

"There's no where safe out here," Loki sweatdropped, seeing that they weren't going to get rid of ths cat problem so easily, and the only place that was deemed secure would be the agency, where he always had protective wards up, "We need to hurry home."

She nodded and made a dash in the direction of the agency, and within minutes, they came upon their own neighborhood, less people around now, but a few of the local felines appeared at the slight scent of Mayura in the vicinity. She had no choice and jumped straight in to the air, very high for the average human, but she wasn't one at the moment and landed nimbly on the tall brick wall.

"Are you okay, Loki-kun?" she threw the question over her shoulder.

A momentarily stunned Loki only grunted out an affirmative reply, "You surprised me."

She laughed softly and glanced to the ground, where a few cats peered up at them, mewing for her. She then leapt down to the ground on the other side of the wonderful barricade, in to someone's yard, but didn't bother with that fact. With their pursuers left behind, Mayura continued their journey home, taking several shortcuts bounding from one yard to the next and using the edge of the various fences as a pathway.

He was certainly amused by her method and wondered if the curse was really that bad to keep, because having a useful Mayura was a positive outcome. She had become reliable, with sharp senses and quick reflexes, and her movements were fluid and graceful. She was careful to make sure he didn't get sick from the bumpy ride, and he didn't have a problem at all, since she wasn't a car. His entire focus was on her lovely profile of determination that he didn't think about anything else, the nice feeling of being that close to her, his arms around her neck and his chin resting on her shoulder.

Upon realization of his train of thoughts, he inwardly groaned, wanting to slap a hand to his head, but Mayura's voice interrupted him, "Don't worry, Loki-kun, we're almost there!"

"Right," he murmured.

In a few more minutes, they could see, in the distance, the familiar exterior of the backside of the detective agency since they were approaching it from an alternate route. Her foot braced the solidity of the ground before propelling herself in to the air, taking a giant leap over the brick perimeter and safely landed in to the backyard of Loki's property.

Very impressed by her strength and grace, he opened his mouth to express his rare compliment, but she had already taken a step forward, one foot slipped across the grass, and she went falling forward, flat on her face, yelping in surprised. The fedora tipped forward, sliding off her head on to the grass, and the pair of sunglasses slid down her nose at an odd angle, adding a comical feel to her befuddled expression. A sweatdropping Loki, still on her back, was speechless, mouth agape, and figured it was best to not say anything either, forgetting the whole thing ever happened.

Having heard her scream, Yamino and Fenrir ran out from the house and were shocked to find the pair had returned unexpectedly and coming through the back way, though they did not have a gateway that connected the backyard. Yamino managed to get out, "What happened, Loki-sama? Mayura-san?"

"Long story," he sighed.

"Welcome home, Loki-tama! Mayu-tan!" Ecchan greeted them, having been house-sitting for half the day, and even though Mayura still couldn't see nor hear him, she still glanced in the shikigami's direction as if she sensed him.

"We're home," he announced, and she soon found Loki's hand in front of her, after he stood up, offering her aid up from the ground, and she gratefully accepted the help. At least they made back to the agency safely, a little messy for one person, that a quick wash couldn't fix, which they both would need after so much running in one day.

She couldn't help but smile at him, "It's good to be home."

Her words brought a smile to his face too, happy that she considered his agency as her home - she did spend a third of her time at his place. Her tail, finally making its appearance, also expressed the joy with a slight sway back and forth, "But I could sure use a bath right now."

They started to head towards the house, as Loki took his outer coat off, nodding in agreement, and she yawned, "And a nap too."

"Why don't you go first, Mayura," he suggested.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, there's a few things I need to do."

"Okay," she smiled, "Want a bath too, Fenrir?"

Loki blinked and then glared at the puppy, who had yet to respond but knew he had to decline for his health. He whined and ran off, rounding the edge of the house, leaving a pouty Mayura with drooping ears, "I guess that's a 'no.' See you in a bit!"

They watched her bounce in to the house, and Loki took off his coat and handed it to Yamino, who asked him, "Did you find anything, Loki-sama?"

"Yes, it's very interesting," he grinned, "Yamino, please give Reiya-chan a call and have her come over for a bit."

"Reiya-san?"

He nodded, "And also prepare some relaxing tea for Mayura. She will need a nap after her bath."

From the sly smirk on his face, Yamino knew what Loki's intentions were and was happy to oblige his father's requests.

* * *

After a nice, warm bath and a set of clean clothes, Loki felt like a brand new person again, entering the study, and no sooner when he sat down in the chair, Yamino appeared with a tray of freshly brewed tea and cake and a happy Fenrir at his feet. He also informed of his completed tasks, having stopped by Mayura's room first to give her chamomile tea with a mixture of berries and lavender to ease her in to relaxation. He recalled with a soft smile that it didn't take long for the girl to doze off, and he helped her in to bed, thinking she must have been exhausted from the day, though he was slightly curious about her adventures with Loki.

"Reiya-san should be arriving soon," he stated, pouring the steamy tea in to the cup, and placed it in front of young detective.

'I'm so hungry, daddy!' Fenrir whined to his father, scurrying to his side, and Loki picked him up in to his lap, just as a sweatdropping Yamino put a slice of cake on the desk. 'Jormungand wouldn't feed me!' he had fully turned on his innocent, sweet son guise, while his brother glared at him.

"I'm sure Yamino was busy," Loki grinned and picked up a fork. Being the awesome doting father, he scooped a piece of cake with a lot of frosting and held it in front of Fenrir, who was just too happy to chomp on it. "Good?" the boy asked rhetorically and then took a bite of the dessert himself.

'Yes, daddy. Very delicious!' he beamed.

He fed the puppy a few more times, and the slice of cake and soon a second piece disappeared between the two of them. They requested for a third one, and at that rate, dinner would be ruined if Yamino didn't stop them, but he couldn't dare tell his father and brother that when the two were staring at him with eager eyes of happiness that sweet, delicious food could only bring them.

Then, the doorbell rang.

And Yamino thanked the interruption. Believing that their guest had arrived, he quickly stood up and excused himself to answer the door, leaving the unguarded cake on the coffee table. With Fenrir in his arms, Loki hopped out of his chair and made his way over to the couch. He set the puppy next to him and proceeded to grab another slice of cake, so when Yamino returned with little Reiya, both surprised to see the boy with frosting smeared on the side of his mouth, and Fenrir was already pigging out with the rest of the cake, eventually swallowing the rest of it in to his mouth. He then rolled on to his back and patted his budging stomach, letting out a small burp.

They sweatropped, and Yamino announced, "I'll bring up some cookies."

After he left, Reiya blushed and sat down next to the boy finishing his cake, "I was happy you asked me to come over, Loki-kun!"

He licked the last of the frosting from his mouth and fingers and rewarded her visit with a boyish grin, "Sorry about the short notice, but it was important." He looked at her, thinking for a moment which made the girl's heart flutter, mistaken his stare for unexpressed affections, and continued, "Actually, I wanted to speak to Freya."

She blinked, her mouth opened to speak, and in the next second, there came a poof, and the blonde goddess appeared from the obscured smoke, surprising the poor detective with a glomp and sending a round-bellied Fenrir rolling off the couch, "Loki~!"

She puckered her lips and prepared to kiss him, but he turned his face to the side and pressed his palms against her cheek, his struggles were very admirable against a very determined, persistent goddess who continuously sought out his love. He was flattered, but he only ever saw her as a friend and a sister, so it was very awkward when she displayed her romantic affections towards him.

Fenrir, trying to get on his feet again but failing miserably, glared at Freya who was totally acting like a creepy pedophile towards his father, while Loki tried to explain, "It's about Mayura."

Still wanting to claim his lips, she huffed out, "Don't speak of another woman when you have me!"

On other days, he would just endure Freya's overbearingness, but today was not the day to try his patience, not when Mayura's well being was at stake. "Freya! Stop this!" he demanded, a rather harsh tone, almost reminding him of the time he used it on Mayura when she had snooped around in his office, but at least it worked and caught the goddess' attention.

Her arms around him loosened as she looked at him with a hurt expression. He opened his mouth to apologize, but she pulled away and crossed her arms with a scowl, "Why does she always have to get between us, Loki?!"

Loki pressed a hand to his temple for a moment, taking in a deep breath and gathering his thoughts, attempting not to snap at the fact that there was no 'between' us from the beginning. He just had to breech the subject, get the information he needed and be done with the day.

"Mayura has been cursed," he stated, garnering her attention once more. She was still annoyed but a bit of curious shone through her eyes. He didn't want to explain from the beginning, so he went straight to the point, "She... acquired a collar with a golden bell and is slowly turning into a cat."

"Cat?"

"I believe this golden bell belongs to you. Or rather one of your cats."

"Tregul? Bygul?" she appeared thoughtful, "I haven't seen them in ages, but they should still be in Asgard." *****

He was happy to hear that nothing else from Asgard had made its way down to the mortal realm, but it wasn't comforting to know that there was that possibility anyway. "The bell somehow appeared in Midgard," he frowned, very certain now that Odin was involved, "How do I break the curse?"

"But Loki, there's no curse."

"What?" he blinked.

"There are two bells," she started to explain, "A golden one and a silver one, gifts made by the dwarves of Nidavellir, and my Tregul should be the one wearing the golden bell. But... they're just regular accessories for my pets. It's trendy to dress up your pets in Asgard, you know."

He sweatdropped, not that he would know about that particular fact, "If it's not cursed, then what exactly is affecting Mayura?" She shrugged, not knowing at all or caring about it, but Loki was going to worry over this until they cured the mortal girl. She disliked her for being a part of Loki's life, but to have him think about her non-stop, she couldn't have that and had to figure something out.

"Well, it may be normal to have them in Asgard," she spoke slowly and uncertainly, "but for a mortal to have it, there is a possibility of strange side effects..."

The explanation sounded plausible, but it still didn't give him a solution to return Mayura to normal. Since this was an item that belonged to Freya and her cats, she was the most likely candidate to remove the object from the girl. He dreaded asking that of the goddess, knowing that she would require something in return for her cooperation, but he had no choice. He could just hope it was nothing to wild and crazy, or he would have to charm his way out of it - maybe?

Loki closed his eyes and sighed, "I guess I should be thankful that it fell in to Mayura's hands."

He was actually very grateful because he got to see a very adorable side to her, not that she wasn't already so, but it was also a sexy and seductive, even though it was all from his dream. That girl was affecting way too much, from constantly thinking about her to going out of his way to save her. If he didn't know any better or didn't have an ego that rivaled Odin's, he would have believed that Mayura unwittingly had him, the popular, handsome, god of Asgard, wrapped around her mortal finger.

He sucked in his pride, "Freya..."

* * *

Mayura suddenly woke up and sat up in bed, looking around at her unfamiliar environment, the darkness of the room making it difficult to discern it all. Her mind was replaying the two days' events, and she then remembered that this was the guestroom at Loki's place and let out a sigh of relief, very glad that she was no longer in 'that' room, though the style did remind her much of that particular bedroom.

She felt her face radiating with a strange warmth and pressed her palms to her cheek, sensing the rise in temperature, the evidence of a blush upon recalling her vivid dream. She never thought she would dream of the handsome _kami-sama_, much less be in a compromising position with him, when he pulled her in to his lap and sneaked a hand under her skirt to play with her tail...

Speaking of her tail, she threw the covers aside and searched for the appendage, having felt something off about herself. Not able to find it, she reached up to the top of her head, expecting to touch the kitty ears, but found nothing there. She turned on the lamp on the side table and jumped out of bed, making her way over to the mirror in the corner of the room. She stood in front of it to examine herself from top to bottom, definitely lacking her kitty ears, and wondered if it really had been part of a dream all along.

She turned herself around just as a sound rapped against the door, followed by Loki's voice. She answered him, allowing him entrance in to the room. The door opened, and he appeared and immediately fell over at the sight of her lifting up the hem of her skirt in front of a full length mirror. He averted his eyes elsewhere, after a glimpse of her lacy undergarment, and shouted indignantly, wondering if the girl had any shame in front of him, "Mayura! What are you doing?!"

She was just too trusting and too comfortable with him, the form of a young boy, to be bother about rules and proper etiquette between them, and that worried him.

"I don't have my ears and tail anymore!" she seemed to pout.

Loki walked over to her and sighed, "What are you talking about?"

She blinked, "Did you forget, Loki-kun?"

He arched a brow in her direction, and she sped through her monologue of their short adventure, from purchasing the cursed bell from a mysterious peddler to acquiring feline-like traits to their investigations on the streets and at the library to being chased by amorous, male cats, which all led her to staying over at the agency. She brought a hand up to her neck and suddenly gasped, feeling around for the choker, the proof that it had all happened, but there was nothing around her neck.

"You stayed over because you were too exhausted to go home," he shook his head, "You must have dreamt it all up."

"No way, Loki-kun!" she huffed, "It really happened! Just a few hours ago! That peddler, the cats..."

"A few hours huh?" he grinned, "It's already eight."

"Eh! What?!" She glanced out the window and at the clock, and it was really night time. She didn't think her nap would be six hours long and had to rethink about Loki's words, but maybe she really was tired, from school, and it was affecting her brain, triggering all the weird dreams. She was beginning to be doubtful, only because Loki was usually right about things and even if something supernatural happened to her, there was a higher probability that it was all in her head.

Loki could see the uncertainty in her manner and expression and took her hand within his own, giving her a reassuring pat, "Dinner is ready, so wash up and come down."

His tone was so gentle and comforting, enough for her to bend to his insistence, and she nodded obediently. With a charming smile, he let her hand go and turned around for the door, coolly leaving the room. When he stepped in to the hall, he closed the door softly after him and leaned his back against the frame, releasing a sigh and all the tension from his small body.

He was very glad that Freya could take the golden bell off without having to wake her up and that he was able to convince her that it had all a dream, though he wasn't exactly sure why he was doing that at all. He should be relieved that she was one of the few to even bother with the abnormal and supernatural and accept it, yet it was also too dangerous for her, a mortal. He wanted to protect her from the dangers as much as possible, but subconsciously, it just might be his fear of her rejection of his immortal existence.

He pushed himself from the wall, preparing to leave, when a loud crash from behind the closed door alarmed him, "Mayura!"

He threw the door open, half tempted to kick it down, and hurried over to her, on the floor, quickly noting the fallen vase from the dresser. He froze in the spot in front of her, staring down at her with apprehension, concerned eyes roaming over her form for any injuries, while she blinked up at him, with curious, crimson eyes. She titled her head to the side adorably before pouncing on him, sending him to the floor. She was now in between his legs, practically in his lap, both hands on either side of his body, leaning her face close to his.

"Mayura?"

Loki could feel the sweat dripping own the side of his face, having her that close to him, and it seemed that she was studying him carefully, first sniffing at his scent and then mewing happily at his familiarity. In the soft light, he caught sight of something glistening around her neck, before receiving a light kiss on the lips, followed by a flick of her tongue, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to curse Odin for somehow getting the silver bell to Mayura or not.

It was going to be a very long night.

* * *

***** Tregul/Thofnir (tree-gold/amber) and Bygul/Hogni (bee-gold/honey) are Freya's cats' names from Diana Paxon's novel _Brisingamen_. I couldn't find any names pertaining to them from Norse mythology, so I just used the one from the author because they sounded like names the cats would have.

* * *

**Notes:** Ah yes, I curse myself for another open ended ending...? So the golden bell gives her the physical feline traits while the silver would give her the mind of a cat. You can assume Freya comes back to get the silver bell, lol. In the meantime, good luck, Loki!

I'd like to thank Gin-Na and kdwml for answering my questions! Thank you for the read and review!

If you stop by my profile, I have some future stories/ideas and summaries posted. Please let me know what you think, or if you'd like to submit any suggestions. I will have a short list of what I'll be working on next too. Thanks! -kuro.


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